Random sunburn question

[BigDiamonds]

I realize this isn''t exactly a health forum, but I thought I would ask anyway!

I am a fair-skinned person who went out the first nice weekend of spring and sunburned herself like a big idiot. I didn''t think to wear sunscreen on my chest because it wasn''t hot (I know, I know), and I was VERY red by the end of the day. I drenched myself in lotion all week, and as of this morning it looked fine. So when I went out today, I dutifully lathered (and reapplied) sunscreen to protect myself. However, after a couple of hours I had these tiny, fluid-filled blisters all over my chest. I immediately freaked out and spent the rest of the day in the shade, and now they are gone.

Any ideas on this? I thought maybe they were sunburn blisters and that I was going to peel, but it doesn''t appear to be the case now, since they are gone. Has anyone ever seen this before?

 

[diamondfan]

they could be a heat rash type of thing on already burned skin...I might ask a dermatologist, even if they went away.

 

[Kaleigh]

Best to see a dermatologist. I had bad burns when I was a teenager, way before we knew anthing about sunblock. I had those fluid filled blisters, not fun!!!

 

[KimberlyH]

Kaleigh''s suggestion about the dermotologist is a good one. I''m fair and have burned myself to a crisp and had blisters many times over but never sought treatment. I''m sure I''ll pay for it later in life (my pediatrician garuanteed my mom I''d have skin cancer when I was 8 because I spent so much time in the sun and was always sunburned).

 

[monarch64]

BigDiamonds, it sounds like a case of sun poisoning to me. I have a medi um complexion and tan easily, but when conditions are right (beginning of the season when I''m at my palest), I have to be careful with sun exposure because I can burn as well. When i was a teenager I experienced something similar to what you described: I went to FL on vacation with my parents and thought I had a good base tan so I used one of those dark tanning oils with spf ...by lunchtime I looked down at my chest and right in the middle of my string bikini there was a bright red, blotchy, raised up area in the shape of a triangle, almost. It hurt, so I spent the rest of the day inside the condo my parents had rented. By morning, though, it was gone. It was the strangest thing. I hadn''t been bitten by anything, I hadn''t swam in the ocean that morning so I wasn''t stung by anything, the rash just appeared and then once I had spent some time inside, was gone. It sort of looked puffy, like it could''ve been filled with fluid, but i didn''t press on it for fear that it was a blister and would peel and leave me with spotty looking cleavage, lol! The fact that it went away so quickly without peeling led me to believe it was sun poisoning. hasn''t happened since, and that was maybe 12-14 years ago.

If your rash/blister thing is gone now, I don''t know that you necessarily have to see a derm. I think if I were you i would just be really, really careful about sunning yourself, especially because you have fair skin. I''m sure you know the drill about using sunscreen, staying out of the sun between 10 and 2 p.m., etc...

I will admit I used to be a tanning addict. I just turned 30, though, and am starting to see fine lines around my eyes, and some new freckles/sun damage on my chest and limbs, eek! I stopped using the tanning bed at all after maintaining a once-a-week fix for years about 9 months ago, and I''m so glad I did. I also use sunscreen now, and buy cosmetics with added sun protection for my face. Even with a darker skin tone and native American heritage, I don''t want to take any chances with skin cancer, and I certainly don''t want to speed up the aging process if I can help it. The only time I really spend in the sun is right after I get home from work at 4:30 when I let the dogs out and play with them for about 30 minutes before I feed them. Other than that, I''ve accepted my skin tone as it is...I do have a wedding to attend in Sept. and want to have a little color so i think I will go get one of those spray tans, hee hee. I still like the way a tan looks on me, but I won''t risk cancer and premature wrinkling ever again.

 

[BigDiamonds]

Thank you all for your help! I have been needing to see a dermatologist to start regular skin cancer screenings anyway, so maybe now is the best time. You guys have me all nervous.

monarch, I used to tan too. I only went once a week, but I just loved having 20 minutes to just relax in the warmth and listen to music. I don''t do it anymore, and I''m glad that I didn''t do it for very long. I was reading this article the other day about how people never listen to the warnings about tanning and skin cancer, but they do listen to warnings about tanning and aging. It''s horrible, but that is me. I''m terrified of looking all leathery and wrinkly when I''m 35, so now I''m a total fake tan addict. Of course, now I have new problems, like orange eyebrows and stained fingernails, but it''s a small price to pay!

 

[divergrrl]

BD..I''m a fair Irish Lass myself, &have to slather on the 45 or 50 before I hit the sun. I just burn like crazy on my chest/shoulders....I''ve had those as well. I used to get regular cancer screenings from a dermie after having a mole removed (non-cancerous but black & changing so it scared me) but i''ve been lax. I am a total water baby (skiiing, scuba diving, swimming, boating) so I need to make that part of my annual appointment trifecta that I schedule each year. FWIW...get the screenings from a dermie, not a GP....you actually get nekkid & they check every nook & cranny. LOL. A little weird, but skin cancer is insidious.


Also, Neutrogena Cooling Mist Body Spray with SPF 45 is my fave for outside. No rubbin'' in.

Diver.

 

[Pandora II]

Sounds like the top layer of skin died and the sun caused you to sweat that then couldn''t escape so formed blisters.

I am super-pale - my scots ancestry - but got horribly burnt as a small child in the pacific. In those days my mother covered me in zinc and caster oil as the best sunscreen was only factor 7

I am incredibly careful now and never leave the house without factor 25 on and factor 60 in the summer. It has some advantages - I''m 35 and have no wrinkles at all.

My FSIL was diagnosed with a very bad skin cancer (melignant melanoma) last year at the age of 29. She has had surgery and a year of chemo, but still only has a 50% chance of surviving the next 5 years. She had an MRI last week and her lymph nodes look a little enlarged which is potentially bad, but we won''t know till December. I am devastated for her and my FBIL. She is an incredibly beautiful and wonderful person and I am hoping like crazy that she makes it and that they are able to have kids and a wonderful, normal life.

I had been arguing with FI about his sunbed use for over a year. Since she was diagnosed he hasn''t been back - it''s just not worth it.

 

[iwannaprettyone]

Sounds like heat rash. I am redheaded pale with freakles...I can''t handle too much sun at all. I live in Texas like an idiot hahah

 

[ephemery1]

Another possibility that you might want to ask your doctor about: a couple years ago, I started dealing with a skin condition called Polymorphous Light Eruption (PMLE). When I would go out in the sun for the first time in the spring, or if we went somewhere tropical over winter, no matter how much sunscreen I wore (usually 30 spf, for sensitive skin)... I ended up with this horrible itchy red bumpy rash all over my chest and upper arms. It looks SO gross. But it can show up in different ways on different people's skin (hence the term "polymorphous"), and apparently most often develops suddenly in women between the ages of 20 and 30. Sunscreen doesn't usually help, unless it's specifically designed to block ALL UVA rays... since it's a chemical in the sun that is reacting negatively with your skin, I believe? Kind of like an allergy?

Usually you develop an immunity after a few times in the sun, which is why it is worse at the start of the season when your skin hasn't been exposed to sun for a while. But it is SOO annoying, since the only way to prevent it is to stay totally covered up or out of the sun (or use special broad-spectrum, high-spf sunscreen formulations... and they're $$$... sometimes $50 a bottle!). I usually apply a topical steroid cream and take a Benadryl, both of which seem to help, but some people take oral steroids for it too.

Good luck!